Springfield 1636-1886, History of Town and City, by Mason A. Green ...

8 SPRINGFIELD, 1636-ISS6.
Pray accept my Jiill of oxchanji; to you by Mr. Peeters for Go li : &
as for the
freight of tlie Blessing fonnerl_y, I have a perfett account of it : but I have not
writt with Antliony Dike to confer my notes with him, & as for the freight of
the Batcheller. I sliall make up the tunag M'ith Mr Gose at Watertowne : for
thither I have conditioned tliat slie must deliver our goods. I asked Lieftenant
Gibbins, before I would hier her, if she might goe as far as Watertowne, & he
confidently affirmed she might, & that there is water enough ; therefore I pray
give all the furtherance you can. •
Both the "• Blessing '" aud the " Batcheller" carried goods for the
Eoxbnrv i)arty, it would seem from this. The first instalment of the
Eoxhury band accomplished its jonrney between April 20 and ^lay
14, when the first recorded meeting took place. This instalment in-
cluded at least a dozen families. Tlie horse-litter for the aged or
indisposed was tlie only vehicle practicable along the forest bridle-
path to the wild west. Cows aud pigs were included in the pioneer
procession, while the armed outpost would lead the way over a pine
plain or down a forest ravine, in order to clear natural obstructions
or prospect for savages. While tlie colony was upon the verge of
a terril)le Indian wor, there is no reason to doubt tliat the Pyuchou
party was well received at the Indian villages which tliey passed.
jNIr. P^'uchon was accompanied doubtless by his bride, Frances
8anford, "a grave matron of the church at Dorchester," whom he
had married not long after the death of the first Mrs. Pynchon.
Puritanism was the religion of honest, unaffected, and stalwart
simplicity, whicli expressed itself strikingly in dress ; but the plain
garb of those days figures in our nineteenth centur}^ e^^es as pictu-
resque in tlie extreme.
There is a natural curiosity as to the costuming of the pioneers,
and a diligent search has served to satisf)' this curiosity in part. ]Most
of the troopers and young men wore tiie customary jerkins or waist-
coats of green cotton, caught at the waist with either red tape or a
leather band. Over this some would wear a maudilion, or sleeveless
jacket, held at the neck witli hooks and eves, and lined with cotton.